| Summary, etc. |
When "We'll Always Have Summer" begins, it's been two years since the end of "It's Not Summer Without You," when Conrad told Belly she'd be better off choosing Jeremiah. For those two years, Belly and Jeremiah have been dating steadily and seem to be very happy. Belly is now finishing her freshman year of college, and she feels certain that her love for Conrad is in the past and Jeremiah is her future. She even admits that, from a young age, she was certain she would have the last name "Fisher" one day — she just didn't expect how it would happen.<br/><br/>Just as she's getting ready for a wonderful summer in Cousins Beach with Jeremiah, Belly hears a rumor: that Jeremiah slept with another girl, Lacie. Belly recalls how she and Jeremiah had a fight right before spring break and decided to take some breathing room. When Belly confronts Jeremiah, he admits that he did sleep with Lacie. In a classic "we were on a break" misunderstanding, Jeremiah figured they were permanently broken up and looked for a rebound, while Belly assumed they were just hitting a speed bump. When they got back together so quickly, Jeremiah wasn't going to tell Belly, but she views it as cheating, and in her heartbreak, she revisits a memory of hanging out with Conrad — nothing "happening" between them, but the feelings still there.<br/><br/>Instead of breaking up, though, Jeremiah proposes to Belly, trying to prove he's committed to her. Belly is hesitant, but she ultimately accepts, and they decide to tell their families when they're in Cousins for an event dedicating a memorial garden in Susannah's memory. The book's POV briefly switches to Conrad, who reveals that he is still in love with Belly but feels like he missed his chance and has no right to disrupt her relationship with his brother. When we return to Belly's perspective at the dedication ceremony, they announce their engagement. Laurel is stunned and doesn't approve, going so far as to tell Belly that she won't help plan the wedding or even attend it.<br/><br/>In light of her fight with her mother, Belly decides to spend the rest of the summer at the beach house, where she can be with Jeremiah and plan the wedding. As it turns out, Conrad is staying there, too, and they grow closer again as he helps out with little things around the house or for wedding planning. Jeremiah has to be away for work and only visits on the weekends. Trying to make Belly happy, Conrad even convinces Laurel to attend the bridal shower. Belly and Conrad share some emotionally intense moments that further confuse her as her wedding draws closer.<br/><br/>At the bachelor party, Conrad finds out about Jeremiah cheating on Belly, but when he goes to tell Belly, she admits that she already knows. He confesses that he still loves her, that he couldn't be there for her because of his grief over his mother's death, and that he only told her to go with Jeremiah because he thought his brother could treat her better. He asks her to run away with him, even though her wedding is the next day. The next morning, Conrad and Jeremiah fight. Conrad visits Belly to say goodbye. When Jeremiah returns, he asks Belly if she still loves Conrad. She admits that she does, and they call off the wedding.<br/><br/>The epilogue jumps ahead a few years, when Belly is almost 24. She narrates how she traveled abroad to Spain while in college, where she and Conrad started writing to each other. They fell in love all over again, and now they're the ones getting married. Jeremiah is there with a date, and all of their relationships are healed, ending with Belly and Conrad running through the waves, just like they always did. |